The yr11 Aerospace Systems class, as part of their studies in airlines and airline operations, were given the opportunity to visit different parts of Brisbane Airport. The itinerary was quite busy with an early start required from the students…06:30!
First stop was Airbus Helicopters on the other side of the airport. This is a defence establishment…no photos allowed! The students were able to see MRH90 and Tiger helicopter maintenance operations. The highlight of the Airbus tour was the virtual reality lab; students were able to use VR headsets and sit in an ARH Tiger test platform. Secret squirrel stuff!
From Airbus, students then headed to Qantas Hangar 3; that’s the big hanger that you see on the other side of the airport when you are taking off from Brisbane. At Qantas, students crawled in, over, and under a massive Airbus A330 that was undergoing routine maintenance. They sat up in the cockpit, reclined in the business class seats, gazed in awe at the scale of the undercarriage, ducked into the cargo bay, and climbed up to the top of the tail. Fantastic stuff.
After finishing there, it was off to DFO for some lunch, and then to Aviation Australia for a tour through the engineering and flight-crew training workshops. Guess what was being filmed in the flight crew training pool there? Cue Jaws music…’Great White’! The GW film crew used the pool at AA to film some key scenes in a controlled environment. The students got to see the ‘shark’ up close and personal. What a ‘great’ experience for the Aerospace students!
Finally, it was off to Airservices and air traffic control (atc). Mueller dad and senior air traffic controller Steve Arthur explained to the students using actual equipment how atc works to keep everyone safe and separated in the air. We then went into a room that had 360-degree video screens and was being set up as the new atc training simulator. They dialled up the sun, then rain, and finally night.
Finally, it was up into the tower to see the approach and runway controllers at work. Lots of haze from the fires could be seen over Brisbane. The new runway is coming along nicely and we will all be flying from it next year. Mueller College Aviation would like to thank Airbus, Qantas, Aviation Australia and Airservices for providing these wonderful opportunities for the students.
Please click on arrows below to view the photos.
